Meditation
Images of incense, crystals, chants of “om” and Buddhist monks come to many people’s minds when they hear the word meditation, but with an estimated fifteen million Americans claiming to partake in a form of meditation on a daily basis, it’s time to put the stereotypes to rest and look at the real facts of meditation (National Centers for Complementary and Alternative Medicine). Based on many scientific studies carried out in recent years, I have concluded that meditation should be prescribed as much as antidepressants and other medications relating to stress, blood pressure, depression and chronic pain. In my readings, including articles in respected Time Magazine and the San Diego Union Tribune, I have also found I do not stand alone in this conclusion.
The number one reason why these estimated fifteen million people began to meditate is stress relief. In one study conducted at Harvard Medical School by Dr. Herbert Benson, it was found that those who meditated at least ten minutes a day on a daily basis increased their theta brain waves, which are the waves the brain creates right before one falls asleep. By increasing such waves, the brain shifts activity in the prefrontal cortex (right behind our foreheads) from the right hemisphere to the left, by doing so this counteracts the brain’s stressful fight-or-flight mindset and switches to a more patient, calm and happier state. In another study conducted by Dr. B.K. Anand, it was found that hormones with a calming effect like melatonin and serotin increase as a result of meditating, whereas the stress hormone cortisol decreases. Meditation is such a powerful way to relieve stress that such people as Eileen Harrington, who runs the consumer-fraud group of the Federal Trade Commission in Washington; Bill Ford, the former head of Ford Motors; and chief of England's top-secret MI-5 all claim to use meditation as their chosen form of stress relief.
Not only does meditation relieve stress in amazing ways, it has also been related to increasing cardiovascular health. According to abc-of-meditation.com, the practice stabilizes the autonomous nervous system, reduces heart beat and speed of breathing, drops blood pressure drastically, and increases the effectiveness of breathing. Also, meditation can increase the size of arteries located in the body, making it easier for blood to travel to tissues. I have personally seen meditation help my Grandfather lower his cholesterol to a healthier level after only three weeks of daily twenty minute sessions.
Meditation also heightens one’s ability to concentrate. As an alternative to medications such as Ritalin and Adderral, many doctors advise their patients to partake in some form of meditation. By lowering activity in the parietal lobe, a section of the brain located near the top of the head that orients you in space and time, you can concentrate better by having a better knowing of your body in relevance to the present. The core of meditation is such concentration. During each session, you focus all of your attention on a word, breathing, or pain if it is being experienced. As time passes, the mind wanders, but you slowly bring your mind back to your concentrated image. For example, the most common concentration point is breathing. With each inhalation and exhalation, your concentration should be focused on the stretching and relaxation of your lungs, the blood being pumped from your heart throughout your body, and your chest moving up and down in unison with your breathing. Suddenly, you may find yourself wondering if you paid the power bill or recounting a conversation you had with a friend earlier that day, but acknowledging such thoughts but bringing yourself back to your breathing is what strengthens your mind and disciplines you to concentrate on the task at hand. When you're doing bicep curls in the gym, each repetition is strengthening the muscles. The same thing when you keep coming back to your object of focus in meditation, it's strengthening the ability to be focused and present in the moment.
In conclusion, I realize that sitting in silence and doing nothing seems like a waste of time, but it is becoming harder and harder to ignore the many benefits of meditation. There are marked meditation rooms in airports alongside the prayer chapels and Internet kiosks. Meditation was the subject of a course at West Point, and in the spring 2002 issue of the Harvard Law Review. At the Maharishi University schools in Fairfield, Iowa, the entire elementary school student body meditates together twice daily. It's offered in schools, hospitals, law firms, government buildings, corporate offices and prisons, and being practiced by many people who wouldn’t be labeled as “hippies” or “tree-huggers”. Even people who don’t know the first thing about Buddhism, such as my sixty four year old Grandfather, practice meditation as recommended by their doctors or even friends. If nothing else persuades one to take ten to twenty minutes out of their day and give meditation a try, it can not be denied that sitting in a quiet comfortable place is a lot cheaper than an hour long session with a psychologist and you won’t need to worry if your insurance will cover it.
REFERENCES
TIME MAGAZINE
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1005349-2,00.html
SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/health/20070306-9999-lz1c06meditat.html
www.abc-of-meditation.com
The number one reason why these estimated fifteen million people began to meditate is stress relief. In one study conducted at Harvard Medical School by Dr. Herbert Benson, it was found that those who meditated at least ten minutes a day on a daily basis increased their theta brain waves, which are the waves the brain creates right before one falls asleep. By increasing such waves, the brain shifts activity in the prefrontal cortex (right behind our foreheads) from the right hemisphere to the left, by doing so this counteracts the brain’s stressful fight-or-flight mindset and switches to a more patient, calm and happier state. In another study conducted by Dr. B.K. Anand, it was found that hormones with a calming effect like melatonin and serotin increase as a result of meditating, whereas the stress hormone cortisol decreases. Meditation is such a powerful way to relieve stress that such people as Eileen Harrington, who runs the consumer-fraud group of the Federal Trade Commission in Washington; Bill Ford, the former head of Ford Motors; and chief of England's top-secret MI-5 all claim to use meditation as their chosen form of stress relief.
Not only does meditation relieve stress in amazing ways, it has also been related to increasing cardiovascular health. According to abc-of-meditation.com, the practice stabilizes the autonomous nervous system, reduces heart beat and speed of breathing, drops blood pressure drastically, and increases the effectiveness of breathing. Also, meditation can increase the size of arteries located in the body, making it easier for blood to travel to tissues. I have personally seen meditation help my Grandfather lower his cholesterol to a healthier level after only three weeks of daily twenty minute sessions.
Meditation also heightens one’s ability to concentrate. As an alternative to medications such as Ritalin and Adderral, many doctors advise their patients to partake in some form of meditation. By lowering activity in the parietal lobe, a section of the brain located near the top of the head that orients you in space and time, you can concentrate better by having a better knowing of your body in relevance to the present. The core of meditation is such concentration. During each session, you focus all of your attention on a word, breathing, or pain if it is being experienced. As time passes, the mind wanders, but you slowly bring your mind back to your concentrated image. For example, the most common concentration point is breathing. With each inhalation and exhalation, your concentration should be focused on the stretching and relaxation of your lungs, the blood being pumped from your heart throughout your body, and your chest moving up and down in unison with your breathing. Suddenly, you may find yourself wondering if you paid the power bill or recounting a conversation you had with a friend earlier that day, but acknowledging such thoughts but bringing yourself back to your breathing is what strengthens your mind and disciplines you to concentrate on the task at hand. When you're doing bicep curls in the gym, each repetition is strengthening the muscles. The same thing when you keep coming back to your object of focus in meditation, it's strengthening the ability to be focused and present in the moment.
In conclusion, I realize that sitting in silence and doing nothing seems like a waste of time, but it is becoming harder and harder to ignore the many benefits of meditation. There are marked meditation rooms in airports alongside the prayer chapels and Internet kiosks. Meditation was the subject of a course at West Point, and in the spring 2002 issue of the Harvard Law Review. At the Maharishi University schools in Fairfield, Iowa, the entire elementary school student body meditates together twice daily. It's offered in schools, hospitals, law firms, government buildings, corporate offices and prisons, and being practiced by many people who wouldn’t be labeled as “hippies” or “tree-huggers”. Even people who don’t know the first thing about Buddhism, such as my sixty four year old Grandfather, practice meditation as recommended by their doctors or even friends. If nothing else persuades one to take ten to twenty minutes out of their day and give meditation a try, it can not be denied that sitting in a quiet comfortable place is a lot cheaper than an hour long session with a psychologist and you won’t need to worry if your insurance will cover it.
REFERENCES
TIME MAGAZINE
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1005349-2,00.html
SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/health/20070306-9999-lz1c06meditat.html
www.abc-of-meditation.com
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